Archive for category the Most Wanted

It has already been a busy year at tellows. Our users have been occupied this year searching among phone numbers as such as those linked to the IRS phone scam targeting us taxpayers, USPS phone and email scam and the Jury duty scam that threatened many of the vulnerable to cough up a penalty fine by making a credit card payment over the phone. Yes, the first half of the year so far has showed us that the scammers are still working hard at it. Now, not all calls here at tellows are deemed to be linked to a scamming operation, however they are more often than not categorised as unwanted and unbeknownst to the caller even with the help of caller ID. This is demonstrably put foward with America’s figures in May.

You received a call at 9 in the evening. It sounded official. Caller said he’s working with the power of an attorney and is affiliated with a credit bureau. He went on to saying that you are committing a crime by not paying the debt and threatened you with lawsuits and arrests.

Now he starts to harass you and calls even at work, giving complete information about you and your family!

Yes, it’s just a bluff. These scammers don’t have any power over you. You are just one of the many targets, just like our fellow tellows users below who also experienced the same thing.

But before we give you our top 3, here are some tips on how you can protect yourself against debt collection scams:

This week’s batch all want your card details if the truth be told. Fight back by quite simply not giving them up. Here are some sneaky new adversaries on the scene to look out for…

A new entrant to the IRS scam arena (someone stop these guys already!) is 5303802641. Highly active within the last week, they’ve got a tellows score of 7 (possibly due to one misunderstanding of the scoring system – remember, 1 means TRUSTWORTHY!) and have no respect for public holidays!

Dan’s got his detective hat on…

This dumb scammer calls me on Thanksgiving day pretending to be an IRS lawyer claiming that I have an ‘Tax deficiency’ issue. What kind of idiot will believe an IRS lawyer works on Thanksgiving day and will call his ‘client’??

Very true. People calling you out of the blue about a ‘legal issue’ is more often than not quite fishy!

On the other end of the credibility spectrum is the gentleman (note the irony) calling from 3362286986. This is a guy who ostensibly really takes offence to non-credit-card-owners; he really flies off the handle if you don’t give him the answer he’s looking for. We’re not sure if he’s working ‘freelance’ or is part of a larger agency but he intersperses his survey questions with other, rather inappropriate enquiries.

Darron indignantly tell us about his experience…

I finally picked up from this number and some guy wouldn’t tell me who or where he was calling from. then I asked to be taken off his calling list and was then called several names and asked to give him a kiss. he said are you drunk? he really irritated me do not listen to him!!!!!

Cold-call flirting is a new one on us but this is exactly what this guy is doing… Albeit ineptly. And angrily.

Check out the link above for a few more entertaining stories.

With a tellows score of 8, 8608227440 is offering ‘better credit card rates’ and has absolutely no explanation of how it’s doing so.

Luckily, Aurora recognised the call for what it was…

The caller talked about better interest for my credit card and wanted to have my credit card number…I left her waiting until she hung up. As if anybody would fall for that kind of scam

…well someone must be if they’re still doing it! If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it weekly, DON’T give your card details out willy-nilly!

Keep your heads up, block those numbers and report them on tellows and we’ll be back with more nerve-grating numbers next week!

The seasons may change but nuisance callers are still a nuisance. Here are our picks of the week.

The first batch of crooks in our line-up are calling from 3605391729 posing as Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU), informing you that your card has been ‘limited’ (whatever that means). They don’t send you your whole card number via text, they just include the first four digits, which they are able to guess due to your neighbourhood, apparently. The plan then seems to be that you call back and confirm those all-important card details!

George states:

I got this text message: “WSECU NOTICE: Your CARD (first 4 digits of my debit card #) has been LlMITED. Please call 360-539-1729″ ….. so I’m like, this must be genuine, they have my card details! but I spoke with WSECU and apparently they’re ripping off people by using standard debit card prefixes of certain areas. I guess you’re supposed to confirm your card details when you call them back. BE CAREFUL GUYS!!!

The next caller is not so ingenious – just infuriating. 5129553173 has been reported as harassment calls and is taking it to another level. We’ve heard of aggressive telemarketers but user kirkwork reports:

I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MANY TIMES THESE IDIOTS HAVE CALLED ME!! It’s like 20 times in 10 minutes! I swear I’m just going to bury my cell in my backyard!

Burying your cell may seem like a viable solution but we do suggest blocking them first.

Last up are these audacious payday loan sharks on 7146023772 hoping to snap up a couple of gullible fish.

Milow says

They called me yesterday evening and told me that I´m was being sued for a 2011 Payday Loan. I can´t believe it. They have a lot of information about me (age, adress, name)

Susan N, meanwhile, was told that

APPARENTLY I could only settle this formal financial issue by purchasing a Green Dot card

Remember, with debt collectors, to wait for formal documentation. Keep calm and don’t forward any money until you are absolutely sure of their identity, particularly if they’re asking you for payment via unorthodox methods like Green Dot cards or obscure transfer companies.

We have a mixed bag of callers for you this week; from the serious to just plain outlandish, our ‘wanted’ list always has contenders jostling for that Most Annoying award.

First up is a scam that’s becoming increasingly popular across the United States: the ‘you got served!’ call. Calling from LA on 2132609423, this fella’s not got the scam down to a fine art just yet…

User hal_t recounts:

some guy has called me literally EVERY. DAY. for the last two weeks telling me he’s bringing round legal papers and I’m getting ‘served’. not been served yet bro…

There unfortunately are more tenacious tricksters out there, who have successfully convinced US citizens that there is a warrant for their arrest out that they can buy their way out of for a couple of thousand dollars. Now, not only is it not possible to get ‘served’ over the phone, it is highly suspect that somebody would ask you to pay your way out of it without showing you any kind of documentation. Don’t let the fear surprise you out of your senses.

Second on the list, 9164698829, tries a similar tack, though much more aggressively. According to our heatmap, the perpetrators are based in Sacramento, CA, and try to accuse you, under a variety of aliases, of owing huge debts.

flynn099, who received a call from a ‘George Belowski’, was having none of it…

THREATENED US WITH A YEAR LONG PRISON SENTENCE FOR BANK ISSUES??? REAL HEAVY INDIAN ACCENT, TOLD US HE WAS FILING THE CLAIM IN AN HOUR!!!! MY FINANCES ARE TOTALLY CLEAR, THIS IS A MASSIVE SCAM!

Like flynn, you too should always be suspicious of an unprompted and unjustified phonecalls about your finances.
Last but not least is prankster and presumably Pitt-fan 8137936945, calling from Clearwater, FL. Witty user ‘monkeyingaround’ could fortunately see the funny side of the call, which cross-referenced more popular culture than your average chain-yanking caller…

This week, our most wanted numbers seem to be intent on asking as many questions as they can on a variety of different topics. Your holidays, your health and your satisfaction with their services are of great importance to them and if you don’t want to answer their invasive questions, they’ll just ring you back the next day and try again.

Our first number 3015759366 from Potomac, USA, belongs to HealthStream and they seem to be making quality control calls regarding your recent visit to the doctor or stay at the hospital. They’re very keen to find out what you thought about it. How they got your number is a mystery but you can have your number removed from the calling list.

It’s like quality check or something after you’ve beent to the doctor, strange yeah but I wanted my number removed and she said she’ll take care if that. It was a bit annoying because they called each day bit I didn’t want to answer in case it was telemarketing because they call me too….

The second number 6073305304 is from Ithaca, USA, and its belongs to WB&A Market Research. As market research is of course of the greatest importance, you’ll be informed that they can call you despite you being on the DNC list. They’ll ask you to answer some questions regarding, for example, a holiday. Of course, they can’t force you to do the survey but that’s not to say they’ll give up trying.

They wanted to ask me questions about my trip which I took not too long ago using Amtrak. Apparently they were allowed to call me even with the DNC. well I answered the questions as fast as possible but still not revealing any information outside of that trip.

And in third place is 6139072516: MBNA Marketing. This company calls its customers regularly. Perhaps far too regularly. It’s difficult to maintain customer satisfaction if your customers are receiving two calls a day asking about it.

They call their customers out of courtesy, their choice of words, but even though I have a card from them doesn’t mean that I want to be called on a daily basis. this is not convincing me, they’re solicitous but simply annoying. I already told them to be removed from that list but it didn’t work. I’ll try again

That’s it for this week’s Top 3!. Keep on being careful and don’t let them take away your well-earned free time. Share your experience with other users on tellows and have a nice week!

This week’s winning entries are all-new and quite entertaining. They are experts in their field and do their work with efficiency and determination – in other words, they just don’t stop calling. We’ve got telemarketers, debt collectors and a delightful mixture of who knows who else, because the last number can be used by anyone who feels like it. Read on…

The first number 6313933105 from the USA may belong, according to our users, to Cablevision, whose telemarketing department calls you if you cancelled their services, or equally, if you might be interested in them. In short, they seem to call everyone with a phone and try to flog their product.

This calls come at rate of 7 or 8 times a day! For once I know whos is calling though. Its cablevision because I canceled a few weeks back. I answered the first few calls and patiently told them that I canceled it with a reason and I’m not interested. They simply dont’t give a damn what I want though…

The second number 5707068800 is from Wayne, USA and the likely owner is Penn Foster, though we can’t quite be sure. What we do know is that these calls come from debt collectors, who might call you a) for laughs (and hang up when you answer) b) to ask you where [insert name of random stranger here] is or c) (the most likely reason) – they want you to pay off a fictional debt.

First I was called to identify some people ’cause apparently, they were all listed with my number and said honestly I don’t know them. Then they wanted to have MY information and that’s just weird. So they collect it. Then is stopped for a few weeks and then they started to call again. Now I had some debt which I had to pay. Now isn’t it convenient that I was called a few weeks back then…It really sounds like scam. when I confronted them they started to get quite rude and even when I wanted them to delete my number, they just said the same thing: give us money!

Our final number 2149695489 from Dallas, USA is not from Dallas at all. If you search this number on the internet, you can immediately see that it doesn’t actually belong to anyone and a whole lot of people, normal and crazy, trustworthy and untrustworthy, are able to use it. Next time you see this number pop up on your screen, close your eyes, make a wish and hope someone really fantastic is on the line. Who knows, you might be lucky.

This phone number is simply strange. Sometimes friends call me with this number. e.g. when they’re away or something but in between I partly get really strange calls from some creeps. They’re similar to the comments below…It seems like everyone can use it cause its a payphone number. I think it’s the ideal opportunity for frauds to get in action

Let this week’s numbers be a warning and don’t forget to keep your wits about you. Our third number just goes to show that you never know who’s on the other end of the line.

This week we certainly have an interesting combination for you, from inmates to stubborn telemarketers who hold on to their work for years. Some of the annoying calls which come flying your way are actually unintentional but let’s admit, that the majority of them certainly isn’t. Telemarketers adopted the strategy to not even ask you, if you really want buy or order something or not. Now they simply ask you how much you want of it and wait for an answer while you still think: what is he/she talking about? And another great strategy is pursued by the Bank of America, which calls their clients to the point, where they block the number, not knowing who it is that terrorizes them.
All in all one could say, that on their way to invent new strategies to reach out to the people, something went wrong. Nevertheless inform yourself and share your experience with us. Your comment might help just the right person.

The first number 2135430000 from Los Angeles – USA is an odd case because it’s supposed to be from inmates from various facilities. They accidently deal the numbers or something just doesn’t work right. At the end both parties are dissapointed. But there is a solution which was proposed by one of the users and which might help you:

I got calls from that number too and because it really started to get on my nerves I researched a little bit and I found out, though I’m not sure if it’s actually true, that these calls come from inmates from various facilities e.g. like jail. Though now I’m even more confused ’cause why would someone from jail call me? Anyway I don’t think that even if I answer, the inmate could do anything against this problem so I’m going to call securustech who sends these calls and have my number blocked.

The second number 2144469818 from Dallas – USA belongs to Telemarketers who stubbornly seek to sell as many of their products as they can, ignoring your opinion on that case entirely. If you say ‘No’ it’s not understood as one. You can be sure that you’ hear from them again.

This number calls our work place and wants to speak with an owner or office manager. They are calling from superpages.com regarding advertising. No matter how many times I tell them I’m not intersted and to please not call they go on calling. It’s frustrating.

And finally the third number 2165458326 from Beachwood – USA belongs to FIA Card Services who is a contractor of Bank of America. They make calls to their clients in order to “thank” them for their business. That means in general that you opened an account in their bank or something similar. The problem is, that customers themselves don’t recognize the number and don’t pick up the call. If they do, the line goes dead or some other problems prevent the bank from expressing their gratitude. So they try again later. And after a while the customers feel harassed.

This number and callers are just odd. I mean they call me daily, at leat 2 times a day and in most cases they just hang up when I try to answer the phone. Phone ID says Bank of America and that makes it even more weird. At some point I didn’t want the call to end as it usually does and after a minute someone answered. They really introduced themselves as Bank of America and they wanted to know my reasons for opening an account..And when exactly did I do that? I would remember that. So I looked it up and that’s the result. Still I’m not in BofA so why do they have my number? And if they call all of their customers to just inform them of the things they already know and in that way annoy the h*** out of them, then I think they should be worried that they might lose some of them in the near future…

These are fine examples of goodwill going bad. Don’t be discouraged. Take care and have a nice week!

This week you were undoubtedly harassed by numerous phone calls and sms. It’s difficult to decide whether you should leave it be or pick it up if you don’t know who is calling you. The numbers are quiet often identified as ‘unknown’ and there is this constant thought on your mind that the call could actually be important. The numbers, which we present you today, make use if that behavior and curiosity and if it doesn’t work, they make use of the fact that no one can stand annoying and harassing calls for long. This week we have numbers of debt collectors, survey and advertising companies. Inform yourself on their methods and don’t think that you are the only victim. By sharing your experience with others you can learn from them and be prepared when the phone rings once again.

Our first number 5159547694 is from Grinnell and may belong to the Credit Bureau Enterprises. They call people in order to remind them of their debts but in some cases, they get hold of a complete stranger and just don’t back off. Dan commented:

I get these annoying calls everyday. No messages, nothing. I don’t usually pick up calls with an unknown number but if I hadn’t done that, I would have smashed my phone against the wall. The best part is that when I did pick up they introduced themselves as CBE and asked for a person I don’t know. I’ve told them that again and again but they don’t listen. What kind of use does this behaviour have? I mean no one gains anything out of it!! I know I don’t have debts and I bet they know it too. They are just too lazy to search for the actual person (if he even exists)

On the second place, there is the number 6068330105 from Russell and it belongs to Lister, Inc which seems to be a hardcore advertising group and can’t accept a ‘No’ for an answer. It drives their clients crazy. Jenny commented:

They just call without leaving any message and then in an hour they try again. If this is important, then you leave a message, if not, well your own fault. I am on the DNC list…if that even counts. I’ll just call it harassment cause that’s what this is. I bet it has got to do something with advertising. looking it up I found out this name Lister, Inc. I think I’ll pick it up next time, just to say not to call anymore, because really there isn’t anything left for me to do.

And finally the third number 2107363080 from San Antonio belongs to the Scarborough Research. Their goal ist to carry out as many surveys as they can and for that, they don’t hesitate to call people again and again, even though they might be rejected each time. Well, actually this outcome is not really that surprising, considering the feelings of the ones who are called. Alice commented:

Calls during the day and night is nothing new when it comes to this number….I already told them I’m not interested in answering their questions but they just keep calling. I even asked them to remove my number from their database but all in vain. It seems that the National Do Not Call List doesn’t stop them. This doesn’t make me want to cooperate at all. Who in their right mind would endure that treatment and then happily comply to their demand?!

This were the numbers of the week. Keep on being careful an don’t be fooled by threats and confusing tactics. Share your expirience with others and have a nice week

at the end of the month we present you another 3 numbers which have stirred your suspicions. These nuisance callers won’t take a breake and you really can’t expect any sympathy from them. This week we have some familiar techniques for you, which you will recognise for sure. All the Jennifers, Ashley, Nicoles and Jennys are back on facebook. Maybe they weren’ t gone in the first place. It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a boy, they still send you messages like you’re long lost friends and try to make you call or text them. We also have a rather dangerous number, which can swindle your money from you before you really understand what’s going on. The frauds use Skype calls to reach the people and they pretend to offer you help with your computer or something else. Be aware that as soon as you give them access to your computer or your data, you can be in deep trouble.

The first two numbers, 3059210411 and 2817128367 , have the same history and the same tactic. Although one is from Canada an the other from Miami, it really doesn’t make any difference if you’re on facebook. We already reported on this topic of Social Network Scam and it seems that this method is getting more popular and the phone numbers increase. Even girls are used as targets as Jennifer confirms:

Funny, I heard of this before but I thought that was a guys-only problem. But just a few days ago I got a friends request on facebook from another “Jennifer”, saying that we shared a friend – which we didn’t, at least not on facebook but that kind of made it appear more trustworthy to me since I have quite a few friends who don’t use facebook anymore and I figured real life-friends beat facebook friends. After I added her, she contacted me again, we wrote back and forth for like a minute before she said she’d had to log off but I should text her to 281-712-8367. That’s when it finally dawned on me that we didn’t have any mutual friends – neither on fb nor in real life. Such a scam!

The third number 6617480240 belogs to frauds, which are after your money and they do this in a rather exceptional way. Sometimes they use your computer as an excuse to gain access to your data and in others they try to make you to tell them the information they need. Some of the calls are made through skype to make it more difficult to call them back. Some of their methods were dicussed in another article of our blog
One technique which is new was discovered by the user Leger:

Got a call from this number. The person on the other line said that he was Jack Turner and that he was calling from Best Mortgage COnsultants. He also said that the company was in Florida, but as I now see that was just another one of his lies. He tried to offer fee loan modification services and wouldn’t say where he got my number from.

If you’ve also been a target of scam calls, don’t hesitate to share it with our tellows community. By sharing your own expirience, you can help those who get terrorised by these calls. Take care and have a nice weekend!